Immortal Pie

Patio Revival

2011-07-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading this blog for more than a week, you may remember that I was recently inspired by the following photo:

A few years back we had a pergola built off the back of our house. We live in a 1955 ranch. One story and a basement. Nothing big on the inside, but it sits on a 1/4 acre lot, which extends long and narrow from the back of the house. Considering that we manage 3 months of Summer-like weather in Portland, tops, this yard becomes vitally important when the weather is good. Northwesterners hibernate in the winter like bears. Movie-watching, beer-drinking bears but, still. When the sun comes out we take our pale, pudgy bodies outside and stay there until it's too cold and/or wet to stand it anymore. This is why we love our big yard, because we absolutely live in it all Summer long. We anticipated that the pergola would turn the concrete slab behind our house into an outdoor room of sorts, but something was lacking. Until I saw the photo above, I didn't know what that something was. You can clearly see though, that while we had decent bones to the space, it just wasn't right.

These thatch-like reed screens are often used for cheap fencing and can be bought at most yard/hardware stores. We got two 6 foot by 15 foot rolls for about $40 apiece and precariously rolled them down the pergola, my husband delicately affixing them to the beams via staple gun. We trimmed the ends, swept up all the pine needles and laid out the plastic outdoor rug I got on sale at Anthropologie two years ago (and then promptly forgot about cause it started to rain again) et voila! Outdoor dining room finally exists!

I still have plans for the space, such as more seating and an outside bar, but for now, I'm happy to have a space to sit outside with enough light to play cards by and enough screen to outwit the sprinkling of Summer rain that will inevitably fall.

Salad Days

2011-06-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

So the first day of Summer is here. Miracle of miracles, it is actually sunny and warm here in Portland, not something we usually see for the first day of Summer. In the spirit of cold dinners eaten outside I'm posting my latest take on pasta salad. I, like many, ate a lot of pasta salad growing up. Truth be told, it wasn't always that different from potato salad and usually involved mayonnaise in varying quantities. For the sake of my family's health and the fact that our garden has started producing actual food I've taken away the mayo and much of the actual pasta, making the noodles more of a sideline ingredient instead of the main thing. What we ended up with was refreshing, healthy and didn't make us sweat!

Any pasta will do, I cooked it a dente (not mushy) and skipped the whole running the hot pasta under cold water thing as it always makes it turn out oddly slick and rubbery. Instead I drizzled a little olive oil on the noodles and let them cool while I chopped up everything else.

Added to them after cooled:

thin sliced fennel
sliced radish
avocado
smoked salmon
arugula and other lettuces from our garden
basil and flat leaf parsley
lemon zest and juice
extra virgin olive oil
s&p of course

The pasta can be cooked the day before and kept in the fridge then it's really an easy after work dinner. And it's so interchangeable depending on what veggies are in season. I can hardly even count it as a recipe. I love the combination of fennel, radish and avocado and often have just those three as a salad, especially if we've got some grilled fish. Mmmm, maybe next week.

The Folder Titled "ArtIWant"

2011-06-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have a folder on my desktop where I put pictures I find on the internet of inspiring things, project ideas or basic gorgeousness that I don't want to lose. I just added a folder called "ArtIwant" because I seem to be finding lots of paintings that I wish I had but likely never will and I don't want to forget what they look like.
While lolling through an unusually slow day last week, reading design blogs to pass the time, I came across a photo of a painting by an artist who I had not seen nor heard of before. Not that that's news. I'm no art expert, as evidenced by my "art" collection at home of vintage paint by numbers canvases that I can't even manage to get framed. However, I like to think I have a decent eye for the stuff and at least I know what I like. Or I thought I did till this picture came up. It just doesn't jive with what I thought was my style. I have a lot of pictures of trees and interesting ladies and bullfighters. I'm not very attracted to the abstract, at least in paintings (the contents of my brain are an entirely different thing). So I was surprised as anyone when I discovered that I was drawn so much to this particular painting by YangYang Pan, a Chinese-born artist living in Canada. Unfortunately for me, and good thing for my pocketbook, this painting is not available to buy. Some of her other works are, but they just don't pull me in like this one.

Curious to see what other works she has I checked out the website for the gallery selling her stuff, the Canvas Gallery . I have no idea if this is representative of Canadian art as a whole or if it's just the style of works shown at this specific gallery, but it appears that Canadian painters are really really liking nature these days. Which is great because I already have a tree painting by a Canadian artist over my fireplace. Here's what I think would look great on the opposing wall:

This bee is by Annette Kraft van Ermel

David Marshak

Deb Gibson (no, not THAT one)

Adria Collins

Steve Nederveen

Sarah Martin

The Great Outdoors

2011-06-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

So something strange happened in Portland this past weekend. Something that hasn't happened in such a long time that its occurrence had almost become something of an urban legend in these parts. It was sunny and WARM at the same time! Pasty and pale citizens still hanging on to their Winter weight poured out of their houses in all manner of Summer dress. Most were squeezed into some form of tank top that was lying on top of the Summer clothing box that has been stored in the basement for the past, oh, nine months or so. At least I was. While enjoying my first grilled meal of the season that did not also involve a sweatshirt and/or umbrella I happened to have a chance to look around my yard. Now, I love my yard. I don't say this to brag, because I can take just about no credit at all for it's gloriousness as everything beautiful about my yard is due to hours of sweaty manual labor executed by my husband. However, since I do love looking at gardens and flowers and design magazines so much, I'm constantly imagining new and fabulous projects for him to complete. We have a wood pergola that comes off the back of our house, covering a concrete slab patio. This is where our grill and table live and not a whole lot else. It's got plants and a few large Blue Atlas Cedars shading the area in and about every other Summer we remember to wrap some outdoor, white Christmas lights around the beams to give the place a warm glow. A couple of months back I bought a rusty old metal chandelier-type contraption that holds perfectly 6 tea light candles, but other than that the decor is pretty spare. Then I saw this:

Now, just to clarify, our slab of patio looks nothing like this photo. It's neither as large nor as fancy and my rusty old chandelier is actually rusty, not "antiqued". That said, I'm in love with the thatching that covers the space. While we have trees to provide shade, they don't make it feel like an outdoor room. And this time of year an outdoor room feels like such a luxury. Plus there are lots of variations of thatched fencing that are inexpensive and would look dynamite as an outdoor roof. So this is my husband's new project. I've collected a few other inspiring outdoor rooms that I like to think will be a someday project too.

This one has the same great thatch roof, but takes the outdoor kitchen theme to a whole different level.

I adore the idea of a sleeping porch. It makes me reminisce about the childhood Summer camp I never went to. My real memory of Summer camp involves some muddy, mosquito infested backwoods shack in Louisiana with mean counselors and no ice. I like this concept much better:

As far as cozy, inviting outdoor patio rooms go, these are perfect because they actually seem like something a normal person with a normal salary could replicate in their own space:

This one is a great choice if you live in an abandoned cement factory in, like, Italy:

But for all-out fabulous patio fantasies, this one takes my cake:

Stress and the Imagination

2011-05-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that owning your own business is a stressful endeavor. Just getting a small business up and running is a slightly monumental task itself and keeping it running requires constant attention. It's no accident that small businesses are often referred to as the owner's "baby". It requires almost as much attention, and at least as much money. Just like parenting, there are good days and bad days, weeks that you wish could be repeated over and over and weeks that just won't end. I've noticed that the more stress I am under, the more my imagination runs off on me. The more work I have to do, the more time I seem to spend daydreaming about happier moments and places. My husband, naturally, works the opposite way. His rising stress only corresponds with an increasing sense of impending doom. A figment of his imagination to be sure and not a fun one. For all of you who stress like he does, and for those of you who just want a visual Quaalude to relax your day I've compiled a few places and things that instantly send my imagination off the deep end. When I'm wishing I could escape my current stress and worry, these are the places I wish I could escape to. To quote Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there".

Colmar, France

Positano

Greece? I'm guessing here, but it doesn't matter, it only exists in my imagination right now anyway.

Bruano, Italy.

Just for naptime. For dinner in my imagination, I'd like to eat here:

And I'd like to sleep here:

I feel better already...

La Cuisine

2011-05-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've designed two kitchens now, the shop kitchen which was an exercise in function over style and my home kitchen. We remodeled our house almost four years ago and took what was an decent sized but outdated, hideously painted and badly organized 1955 kitchen and turned it into something useful. I probably spend more time there than any other room besides the bedroom, and that's only because I'm sleeping in the bedroom. I had two main requirements for my kitchen: a big, industrial style stove with a convection oven and hood fan (ok that may be a couple requirements right there) and lots of light. Of course, if you're going to spend lots of time in one room it helps to make it pretty to look at. I'm not looking to remodel a kitchen anytime soon, even during bbq weather, but that doesn't keep me from being inspired by other people's beautiful kitchens. Here's a little culinary eye candy of some spaces that I find inspiring.

I covet this stove and I love how they've incorporated Ikea-looking shelving so seamlessly.

Chandelier. That's all I'll say.

Ok, so it's the stove again, but it's also almost the exact same wall color as my kitchen and therefore, love.

I don't even know where to begin here. The Beams! The open fire! The stone walls!

I find this so clever. I could actually do this DIY project. Or, more likely, get my lovely husband to do it...

This photos is from Cote Maison. It is so French I probably didn't even need to mention that it's French.

This is a view into the kitchen at the Chateau de Bagnois Hotel in France. Beaujolais, I think. For any of you who have worked in hotel kitchens, you know how utterly dreamy this is. Someday I want my home kitchen to look out onto a well-lit, gorgeous stone courtyard. A girl can dream, yes?

Salad Again?!

2011-05-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

While it may seem like I have nothing better to do than write about what we eat for dinner every Tuesday, I really have a lot going on. Trying to decipher USDA regulations and researching small scale food manufacturers takes up more time than one would think, not to mention the pie-making that happens every day. It's a wonder I'm not bored of eating in general given how much time in a day I spend thinking about food and the making of food. I think that combined with the early Spring urge to eat anything besides meat and root vegetables is what keeps leading me to salads lately. This week I was inspired by the olive bar at my grocery store. It seems like every grocery has jumped on the olive/antipasti bar bandwagon in the last couple of years, some more effectively than others. This is really a combination of a chopped salad, panzanella and an antipasti plate. Which is great because that means it's super flexible and can be altered in a variety of ways.

Here's what it includes:

Rotisserie chicken cooled and shredded
chopped romaine hearts
sliced radicchio
sliced yellow bell pepper
sliced fennel
chopped cucumber
yellow cherry tomatoes
olive bar marinated mozzarella balls, sweet-hot peppers, almond stuffed olives & marinated onion
focaccia croutons
drizzles of balsamic and olive oil

You can sub iceberg for romaine, salami for chicken, feta for mozzarella, etc. In the fall you can use beets and carrots or whatever. I bought a square of supermarket focaccia and cut it into chunks toasted them in the toaster oven. The whole thing took about ten minutes to put together and made an all encompassing dinner. I only wish it had been warm enough to eat it with a glass of pink wine in the yard.

Worknight Dinner From Scraps

2011-05-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday nights are always a bit of a scramble for dinner at our house. With my first grader at Grandma's until I close the shop at 7 and husband at an evening class, we often get by on grilled cheese or worse. This was, of course, never my intention and I often think I'll plan a menu for the week, making something Monday night when I have the day off that can be transformed into various healthy, quick meals for the rest of the week. I mean, that's what so many magazines tell me I can do, yes? Here's what actually happens: Monday night's dinner is either all gone or sent off as lunch. I spend Tuesday cooking or prepping pie fillings, braising meats and rolling out dough. I close the shop as quickly as possible, race to my mom's house, get my daughter, race home smelling like sausage or beer braised beef or whatever the smelliest thing at work was that day and S. says, "mom I'm STARVING! What's for dinner?" While in my head I'm thinking, "the olives on the toothpick in the martini I'm about to make," but what I say is, "let me see what we have in the fridge".
And then it's the fridge's turn. There is food in our fridge. We're not one of those houses that only use it to store condiments and juice, but often it's full of things that need preparation. You know, ingredients. Raw vegetables, eggs, random bits of leftovers that should have been thrown in the bin days before, and of course, condiments. Sometimes it holds some sort of gem that I can morph into real food and last week I got lucky. Salvaging whatever edible goods I found in the produce bin and a peek in the freezer ended up producing one of S.'s favorite dinners yet.

With no time for shaking martinis I turned on the oven and cleared some space and set up a cook's snack.

I love a salad. But only a good salad. Throwing together marginal greens and a little oil and vinegar does not a salad make for me. Luckily on this day I had the remains of green produce that had once belonged to some other recipe but happen to go together beautifully: Butter lettuce, celery and fresh tarragon.

I would say it was more of a frantic tearing than actual chopping that put those together but they still seemed to be missing something. I really wished I had an avocado, but I hardly ever have an avocado when I really need one. I opted for some feta cheese instead. I should note, though, that the feta I had was one I brought from work (I use it in the greens and feta tarts for anyone who knows the shop) and it's an Israeli feta which is creamier and milder than the Greek version we're most used to. This is a survivalist style salad, however so if you're going to make it at home, for God's sake use whatever is handy.

By this time the frozen goodies are in the oven, S. is almost out of the shower (I don't think she knows I can hear her singing when the water is on) and it's time for dressing. Now, my kid has no problem with veggies. I don't know if we're just lucky or if it's because I've always refused to make two dinners. She eats what we put on the table or she doesn't eat and I can tell you with those options she always eats. But she's still only 7 so if I'm going to make this salad truly appealing I need one special thing:

S. is putting on pajamas, I'm turning off the oven and it's time to eat.

Oh, I almost forgot to show you what's in the oven. And don't judge, it was a long day and the fact that I managed a salad and the showering of a child all at the same time deserves a visit from our friend the chicken nugget.

Creative Outlets

2011-04-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

I was already thinking of change before Otis Redding's "Change Gonna Come" started playing through the shop's computer. I was thinking of how things are always changing when you don't want them to and nothing seems to change when you are dying for something to change. Sure you can "visualize" it or "make" it, but in my experience change comes in two main ways: completely out of the blue with no warning or preparation and in small, invisible doses so that it's impossible to see the change happening and it can only be observed after the change has occurred. Much like a Supernova I suppose, but way less dramatic.

I began this blog what seems like ages ago as conduit for professional change. I had a 5 year old daughter who was entering school and a part time job that gave me overtime stress. I needed something tangible, something creative to do and make. That thing was making pies, which has always been a relaxing, introspective activity for me. Not-so-slowly that turned into the shop, which of course turned into work and now I'm back here looking for another change. Prepping vegetables, reading about food, planning menus and working out recipes every day has done what I never thought possible to my brain. It's made it a little bored of food. I'm oversaturated with thoughts, images and ideas of food. Filled to the brim with braised meats and vegetable tarts. I need to think about something else on a regular basis. I need a new happy place.

Oh, I still love kitchens, tables, beautiful dishes and the smells of a good kitchen. I love all the great stuff that food can do for a body and mind, not to mention a group of friends. Blame it on astrology, if you like. As an Aquarius I'm an idea person. I love planning big plans and here I am mired in the actual details. Who would have thought? So I do what one does when change is needed and none seems to be coming. Find an outlet, some way of incorporating the aspects I'm missing into the life I'm actually leading. Filling in the hard spaces with squishy inspirations. I can't tell you what this blog is about to become. My best guess is that it will be a digital mirror on my current obsessions and crazy ideas. I don't doubt you will find food here in one way or another as it's been the one constant of my work life since I was a teenager. Some ramblings about working in the food and beverage industry while raising a child and maintaining some semblance of married life, maybe just some pictures of pretty stuff I found on the internet. I suspect, though, that it will be a series of invisible, imperceptible variations that someday result in something different than what it is now. Or what I am now.

Now, excuse me while I enter today's happy place...

Website!

2010-03-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

We haven't forgotten about this blog, but we do now have a real live website. Check it out at: www.immortalpieandlarder.com and let us know what you think! We'll be adding photos as things progress but it's got some good stuff on it already...

Finding Space

2009-07-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is an ongoing theme for my life in general. Finding Space. This is the first time I think that theme has been so literal. Immortal Pie needs to grow, and to grow it needs space. The kind of space that has walls and windows and hopefully concrete floors and exposed ancient wood beams. I have begun the search for a bricks and mortar location for my fledgling pie-dom. For those of you who have not had the joy of wading through regulations, red tape, debt and the OLCC for the purpose of starting your own small business then it will be a glimpse into the scary world of self-employment. For those of you who are small business owners, maybe you can just leave me some constructive comments to help avoid unnecessary pitfalls. Either way, the end result should be more pie for everyone!

I'm Sorry I Neglected You, Dear Blog

2009-07-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Really, I am. I didn't mean to but I've been hard at work at other things. I'm really ready to try and mend this relationship though. I really really am. See, I've got some new pictures for you and I even started an Immortal Pie Facebook page. If that doesn't say love, then I don't know what does. Except that I'm almost ready to share delicious pies with the world, friend and stranger alike. How about this: if I promise not to neglect you again, will you promise to lead people to good pies? Deal. Here's some pie:

Thanks to Leah Verwey for the great photos. See more of her at www.leahverwey.com

Pie Sunday

2009-01-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

In the interest of ever getting my pie recipes sorted out and getting my ass into a farmer's market booth, I have dedicated Sunday as Pie Day. Every Sunday shall be devoted to the creation of new pie recipes and the perfection of old ones. The goal, of course, is to make pies so delicious an delectable that friends and strangers alike will line up and pay me cold, hard cash for the opportunity to stuff their faces with my baked goods. This is a town of people who love to eat, care greatly about what they eat and where it comes from, and most dauntingly, know the difference between good food and outstanding food. My mission is to make outstanding pies, mostly savory, some sweet.

This post is from my first Pie Sunday, January 11th. I made the following pies, and yes, feedback is more than appreciated...

Egg and Bacon Breakfast Pie (i.e. Hangover Pie):

Partial whole-wheat crust, maple cured bacon, Yukon Gold potatoes and organic eggs with cheddar cheese and that's pretty much it. The taste test consensus at the house was that it needs less potato and sausage instead of bacon. But ho doesn't love bacon? Nevertheless, sausage just has a bit more juiciness, which this pie definitely needed. Plus, to cure a hangover one really does need a bit more fat and meat.

Verdict: valiant attempt, perfect with some tweaking.

Smoked Salmon Pot Pie:

Yum Yum Yum Yum. Me and my husband's favorite, although my parents were not down for some reason. Was it the fennel? The toasted dill seed crust? Too much lemon zest, not enough cream? I don't know, but the real truth is that smoked salmon is expensive and I'd really like to keep my pies at about $7 apiece. Seeing as I'm not married to a salmon fisherman, I'm not sure how feasible that will be. On a happier note, I give you:

Coconut Curry Chicken Pot Pie:

This was, hands down, the most successful experiment of the day. Delicious, moist, full of peas and carrots and those Yukon Golds again, as well as organic chicken. A bit messy for market eating, perhaps, but perfect to take home and reheat. This pie renewed my faith in my harebrained plan of pie-making-for-dollars. It made me think I might be able to do this. I might actually have a good, workable idea.

Not-so-fancy French Pear Tart:

First off, I was a bit apprehensive about making another tart, seeing as how the last one was such drama. Thankfully, this one fared better AND I learned my lesson about the importance of sheet pans as carrying vessels.

Loved loved the crust. Like regular pie crust except rolled in sugar instead of flour. Such a small thing that makes a big impact. The crust took on this super crunchy sugar shell, somewhat like a real Belgian waffle. Mmmm, shout out to the waffle window off Hawthorne!

It was ridiculously easy to make (how un-French!) but it is not pear season. This is a tart that needs, no begs, to be made when pears are at their best, ripe-sweet, subtle and floral height. That one little detail, using fruit at its peak, really makes all the difference in the world (and what I believe really sets French pastries apart. Oh, and all the butter). The great thing about this tart though, was that it made perfect midnight snacks from the fridge. I began keeping a knife on top of it so I had easier sliver cutting access. I will surely make this tart again. Just not until Fall.

Now to plan this Sunday...

Near Disaster Tart

2009-01-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes you'll be in the middle of something that seems to be going terribly wrong and wonder what on earth you did to deserve such karmic punishment, to only later find out that it was really a secret lesson, a blessing in disguise? This was my karmic tart.

Behold, the Near Disaster Peanut Butter Honey Caramel Tart:

I saw this recipe in the newest edition of Bon Appetit magazine in an article about food trends for 2009. Apparently, peanut butter desserts are the next big thing. In the interest of research I took it upon myself to test this trend out. Things began to fall apart almost immediately. After blind baking the tart crust without any filling, I went to remove it from the oven and my hand slipped, causing the bottom of the tart pan to separate from the sides and a portion of the side crust to break. Total disaster was avoided, most of the crust was intact but there was no way it was going to be a perfect tart now. The next pitfall was a complete oversight, as (oh did I mention this was New Year's Eve and I had 2 hours after work to make a three course meal) I poured in the delicious honey-peanut-caramel filling into the shell without a thought of the broken crust. Thank Jebus that I had put the tart on a sheet pan because 10 minutes later there was my delicious filling oozing out the sides and bottom of the tart pan. My helpful husband built a hasty tin foil tart coozie and I scraped up the caramel ooze. Back in the oven it went, but duh! it was now cooking the caramel after a good 5 minute cool down and the filling, while tasty, was more old Snickers bar than gooey tart filling. I finished the next two layers of peanut butter whipped with icing sugar and dark chocolate ganache well enough, and everyone ate their piece, but it was far from what I'd imagined it to be when looking at the photo.

Like any good religion-free soul searcher I wondered what lesson there was for me in this tart fiasco. First off, I prefer pie to tart, that must now go without saying. Unless it's one of those amazing mini strawberry tarts that one gets in France. Second, like all luscious and enjoyable things in life baking cannot and will not be rushed, hurried, or otherwise sped up. This is not a speedy activity and never should be. One cannot rush perfect pie. Of course, this leads to the third Lesson of the Tart, perfection is an illusion. To seek perfection is an exercise in terminal frustration. It's true, there's a lot of Zen in pie-making...

Brie, Pear and Hazelnut Brittle Tart

2008-10-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

I often find myself thinking about wine pairings as it's a regular topic where I work. I also often find myself staring into the depths of the meat and cheese drawer of my refrigerator thinking about what to eat. Both of these occurrences led me to this tart. The crust is made with cold Sherry (dry, I used an Amontillado) instead of water and lends itself to either a sweet or savory tart.

This one is a bit of both.

After making the dough I let it rest in the fridge and got to the hazelnut brittle. Brittle is one of those things that seems way more difficult than it is sometimes. It couldn't be easier, just heat some sugar (I used about a cup) until it starts to melt and brown, add in butter and when everything looks like caramel through in your chopped nuts. Pour mixture out onto some parchment paper and wait until cool. Mine looked like this:

While this cools make the brie custard. I have no measurements for this stuff, it's one of my pitfalls of baking right now. I hate to measure and often just guess. That may be OK for fillings but it gets me in trouble for anything else. I cut off the rind of the brie and whipped it up adding 3 yolks and about 1/2 cup or so of cream. This makes the base of the tart. On top of that goes sliced pears that have been dipped in reduced PX Sherry till it looks like syrup. Before heading to the oven the tart looks pretty good:

The shell was par-cooked and the whole thing baked at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the custard set and browned a bit. The brittle gets broken into pieces and sprinkled over the slices.

Verdict:

Husband - "I'd eat a couple slices of that."
5-year-old - "Yum Yums"

Me - The flavors worked really well together although the sherry didn't come out in the crust quite as much as I'd expected. The brittle totally makes it work. Next time around I would soak the pear slices in the syrup a bit and pre cook the crust longer. Otherwise, a successful experiment.

Now, on to the next pie!

Crust

2008-10-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the thing. I'm just going to put it out there fir off so there's no confusion. I am very, and maybe oddly, protective of my crust. I have no idea if all pie makers are but to me, it's the most important thing. If the crust isn't spectacular then why turn the filling into a pie? Just spoon it over ice cream or make a sandwich out of it. I plan on experimenting with my crust here, but I am not planning to list my recipe. The way I see it is this: if you need a crust recipe of your own, then find a grandma (yours or someone else's) and get a recipe from her. That what I did, thank you grandma Haunstein.

Why Immortal Pie?

2008-10-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Why pie at all, right? A pie, by the way, is not just a thing to eat after turkey, a way to use up U-Pick berries, or (heaven forbid!) made with a crust from the freezer section. Sure, there's a bit of the comfort food/grandma connection, and many argue for its all-Americanness (though given the galette, tart, crostata, empanada and pasty that seems a bit of a stretch) but there's something else to it. Making a pie is a process, a journey if you will. Like all journeys it's never the same each time, a lot can depend on the weather, and there are infinite possibilities. I've always been a fan of the journey during times of turmoil and uncertainty. I've also been a fan during times of growth, exploration, and all around contentment. In that spirit I intend to use this blog as a witness to my journey through Pieland. Call it a pie Odyssey. No, that's too dramatic. Let's stick with Immortal Pie.